Published: July 17, 2007 10:23 am      

Woman hit with animal abuse complaint

MILL CREEK – A woman who was given a deferred sentence for animal cruelty in 2004 has been arrested again on the same charges, this time in a different county.

Barbara Knight, 56, Mill Creek, remains in the Johnston County Jail on animal cruelty charges after her arrest last week by Mill Creek Police Chief Randy White.

Knight completed a one-year deferred sentence out of Murray County in 2005 after pleading guilty to animal cruelty charges involving a number of horses she had neglected.

Last week’s arrest, according to White, came after Knight’s Mill Creek neighbors complained that she was neglecting a large number of dogs and cats at her residence in the 300 block of Pontotoc Street.

“We had information, three or four weeks ago when it was raining so much, that none of her animals had any kind of shelter from the elements,” White said.

“I began an investigation, and apparently she became aware of that so she moved all the animals inside and didn’t let them out for any reason at all for about three weeks. When we entered the residence last week, you can’t imagine what it was like inside that house,” he said.

White said Knight had 25 dogs and 10 cats in the residence, all filthy and severely underfed.

He said none of the animals was in “good” shape, with several suffering from some degree of mange and one cat “almost dead.”

White said Knight also had her 17-year-old daughter and an 80-year-old relative living in the house at the time. Both have since been relocated and White said he would seek to have the house condemned.

Murray County District Attorney’s office records show Knight was ordered to follow a strict set of guidelines in regard to her 2004 deferred sentence.

After pleading guilty to neglecting several horses, Knight was ordered to provide the court with monthly veterinarian bills and monthly feed store receipts to show that her animals were being properly cared for. Records show she completed that one-year term successfully.